<!DOCTYPE html>
<html>
<head>
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<title>Won't Say It Out Loud by thraxbaby</title>
<style type="text/css">

body { background-color: #ffffff; }
.CI {
text-align:center;
margin-top:0px;
margin-bottom:0px;
padding:0px;
}
.center   {text-align: center;}
.cover    {text-align: center;}
.full     {width: 100%; }
.quarter  {width: 25%; }
.smcap    {font-variant: small-caps;}
.u        {text-decoration: underline;}
.bold     {font-weight: bold;}
</style>
</head>
<body>
<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26387641">Won't Say It Out Loud</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/thraxbaby/pseuds/thraxbaby'>thraxbaby</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Arcana Birthdays [16]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Arcana (Visual Novel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>First Dates, First Kiss, Fluff, Happy Birthday you beautiful mountain man, M/M, Short &amp; Sweet</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-20 22:28:43</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,214</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26387641</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/thraxbaby/pseuds/thraxbaby</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Manny plans a sweet date for Muri's birthday</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Apprentice/Muriel (The Arcana)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>The Arcana Birthdays [16]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1387966</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Won't Say It Out Loud</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Muriel sipped his tea in comfortable silence. He had returned to his hut after foraging to find that Manny had not only remembered his birthday, but had planned a date for them. So Manny had led him to the palace gardens, followed a trail to a secluded spot in the brush where a picnic of citrus tea and a honey lemon cake was set up for them to share. So here they sat together on a soft blanket in the gardens, listening to birdsong and the breeze rustling the trees overhead. Inanna laid beside them, basking in the warm rays of sunlight filtering through the leaves. </p>
<p>"This is... nice." Muriel commented. </p>
<p>"I'm glad. I specifically asked that this area of the gardens be left alone, so we shouldn't be bothered out here." Manny replied. </p>
<p>"... Thank you." Muriel said. "This is... People aren't normally this nice to me." </p>
<p>"That's surprising. I guess I'll just have to spoil you." Manny smiled at him. Muriel flushed, looking everywhere but at Manny's face. </p>
<p>"You... don't have... to." Muriel muttered. </p>
<p>"But I want to. You deserve the world, Muri." </p>
<p>"I don't..." Muriel mumbled. Manny rose onto his knees to be more level with Muriel sitting down and held the mountain man's face between his hands. Muriel froze for a second before leaning into Manny's touch. </p>
<p>"You <i>do</i> deserve the world, Muriel. You deserve nice things. You deserve to be happy. And I will remind you of this every day for the rest of my life if I have to."</p>
<p>"Why?" </p>
<p>"Because I care deeply for you. You're important to me. And I kinda hope I'm important to you, too." Muriel glanced to the side, away from Manny's soft gaze. </p>
<p>"You are." he replied in such a soft voice, it almost wasn't heard. Manny smiled. Without thinking, Manny pressed a kiss to Muriel's lips. Both men froze. Muriel stared at Manny with wide green eyes. Manny was afraid he'd moved to quickly for him. He knew Muriel was quite closed off when it came to friendships, especially romance. He liked to move (very, very) slow. </p>
<p>"I... Was that too much?" Manny asked. Muriel opened and closed his mouth, unsure what to say. His blush deepened and Manny was afraid he might pass out. </p>
<p>"Itwasn'tthatbad..." Muriel muttered before hiding his face in his hands, wanting to just disappear. </p>
<p>"I didn't mean to embarrass you." Manny said. "I'm just... an affectionate person, I guess. I won't do it again if you don't want me to." Muriel peeked out at Manny through his fingers before looking away. </p>
<p>"Hey, I brought some cards. Asra told me you're good at poker. Wanna play?" Manny held up the deck. Muriel's hands lowered from his face and with a tiny, almost imperceivable, twitch of his lips he nodded silently. Manny handed over the deck and watched in amazement as Muriel shuffled the cards fluidly. </p>
<p>Round after round, Manny lost every single one. He thought he was a pretty decent poker player, but Muriel was sweeping the floor with him. After the seventh win in a row, Manny called it quits. </p>
<p>"How?! How are you this good? Usually I can win a round or two, but this time it's like I couldn't get a single win! Did you cheat, or something?" There! There was that little twitch of Muriel's lips. "You <i>were</i> cheating! Asra I can see cheating, Julian definitely, but <i>you</i>?!... Teach me your secrets, Card Master." This made Muriel blush again. </p>
<p>Muriel shuffled the cards again, this time slower to show Manny the tricks he and Asra learned as kids. </p>
<p>"See? Now the best cards are tucked away to swap out for later." </p>
<p>"I can't even shuffle without bending the cards. You really think my stubby fingers can do that?" Manny jokingly complained. </p>
<p>"They'renotthatstubby..." Muriel muttered, taking Manny's hand in his, gently swiping his thumb over Manny's palm. That little gesture felt just as intimate as any kiss, especially coming from Muriel. </p>
<p>Every second spent together, every word shared, every little gesture made Manny fall a little more in love with Muriel. He was tall and handsome, yes, but he was also oh so gentle and soft and complex. Manny wanted nothing more than to get to know Muriel. All of him. Even the parts Muriel hid away from everyone. </p>
<p>"Why are you looking at me like that?" Muriel questioned. </p>
<p>"Hm? Oh, I'm just thinking about how handsome you are." Muriel lit up bright red. </p>
<p>"I'm not... My scars..."</p>
<p>"Bold of you to assume that doesn't just make you even more handsome." Manny smiled. </p>
<p>"Stop. I'm leaving." Muriel grumbled, but made no move to actually get up. </p>
<p>"No, don't leave! I'm sorry, but you just have to face the facts. You're a very handsome man." Manny said. </p>
<p>"Mmf!" Muriel whined from behind his hands, hiding his face once again. "You're handsome, too." he mumbled. </p>
<p>"You're handsomer." Manny replied. </p>
<p>"You're weird." </p>
<p>"But I'm your weird."</p>
<p>"That doesn't make sense." Muriel glanced at Manny with an exasperated look, though there was a softness to his eyes that said he wasn't as annoyed as he let on. </p>
<p>Manny was weird, Muriel thought, with his big brown eyes and big smile and cheery mood and big heart... And his thoughtfulness... Muriel had never been on a date before, but this was the best date he'd ever had. Not that he'd admit it out loud, though. </p>
<p>Muriel glanced at the pouch of myrrh hanging from Manny's neck. That alone told more than Muri was willing to admit. He gave it to Manny so he could remember him. He wanted Manny to remember him. He wanted to see Manny again. And again. He was weird... different... but a good kinda different. </p>
<p>"Muriel... Can I... kiss you?" It was Manny's turn to blush. Seeing him so flustered made Muriel feel a bit better about the situation, though he still felt his face grow hot for the millionth time this afternoon. </p>
<p>"Youcanifyouwant." Muriel replied. The two inched closer, Manny moving slowly as to not startle the taller man. Their lips met in a sweet kiss. Upon parting, both men were left breathless and speechless. Inanna chose that moment to hop up onto her feet and disappear into the brush, leaving the men alone. </p>
<p>They didn't do much else after that. Muriel showed Manny how to twist flower stems to make a floral crown, gifting the other their creation. Then it was time to go. The sun was starting to dip in the sky and both of them knew it was best to start making their way back home. Muriel walked Manny back to the shop. Once at the doorstep, Manny thanked him and, standing on a higher step, stretched up to drop a kiss to the jagged scar across his cheek. </p>
<p>"Happy birthday, Muriel. I hope you had as good a time as I did. And I hope to see you again soon." Manny said before waving and stepping inside. Muriel walked the rest of the way to the forest, meeting with Inanna again halfway along. The whole walk, Muriel could feel his cheek and lips tingling from where Manny kissed him. It was embarrassing to think about, but at the same time, Muri wanted more. </p>
<p>Not that he'd say it out loud, though...</p>
  </div></div>
</body>
</html>